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Covering All the Aging Bases in 2017

Published in Pawtucket times on January 1, 2017

As an age beat columnist, it has been a very eventful year in covering aging, health care and medical issues that impact older Rhode Islanders. During 2017, over 42 “fresh” commentaries along with previous printed ones appeared in the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call. Readers were kept abreast on a dazzling array of political issues, including a GOP President and Republican-controlled Congress attempting to whittle popular domestic entitlement programs like Social and Medicare programs, attempts to derail Obamacare, and the passage of the largest tax code changes in the past 30 years.

Throughout 2017, a few of my weekly commentaries drew attention to individuals who worked tirelessly on behalf of older Rhode Islanders. It is important to recognize volunteers who assist Rhode Island’s aging network provide programs and services to the state’s growing older population. One commentary noted Phil Zarlengo tireless efforts, and his receiving AARP’s most distinguished volunteer award. Another commentary gave kudos to the Rhode Island Minority Task Force’s 10 “Everyday Heroes.”

Meanwhile, other commentaries penned that year touched on a wide range of aging issues, from a Senate calling to better protect seniors during disasters, improving your cognitive health, enhancing communication at home, taking a look at how innovative companies help caregiver employees, to taking a look how a person made “lemonade out of life’s lemons” who shared her insight others.

Below are five article, providing you with the breadth and depth of this year’s commentaries. Over 300 commentaries including the below ones can be viewed on my blog, herbweiss.wordpress.com.

1. “Spumoni’s: “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”: Study Says Being Socially Active May Improve Cognitive Functioning,” published I the Feb. 26, 2017 issue of the Woonsocket Call, and one day later in the Pawtucket Times.

Mark and Nancy Shorrock, of Attleboro, Massachusetts, now in their seventies and married for 52 years, began dining at Spumonis twice a week with their children in the 1980s, and remember being drawn to the Italian-style restaurant because of its reputation of serving “good food.” Over the years, as the Shorrock’s three children became more independent and “doing things on their own,” the couple began increasing their trips daily to the Pawtucket resident for dinner since it was so close by. Of course, their network of friends increased, too.

What the Shorrocks know innately, a 24-page report, “The Brain and Social Connectedness: GCBH Recommendations on Social Engagement and Brain Health, “released by the Global Council on Brain Health in February 14, 2017, tells us that larger social networks may positively impact your health, wellbeing, even your cognitive functioning. This report is available at http://www.GlobalCouncilOnBrainHealth.org.

“It’s not uncommon for our social networks to shrink in size as we get older,” said Marilyn Albert, Ph.D., GCBH Chair, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “This report provides many helpful suggestions about the things we can do to improve the quality of our relationships with family and friends, which may be beneficial in maintaining our mental abilities.”

The Brain and Social Connectedness report addresses the social benefits of having pets, the role that age-friendly communities play in fostering social ties, and how close relationships promote both physical health and psychological well-being. The report also covers how social media like Facebook and Skype helps older adults maintain their social connections.

2. “Carvelli: Making Lemonade Out of Life’s Lemons,” published in the April 9, 2017 issue of the Woonsocket Call, and one day later in the Pawtucket Times.
Author and life coach Linda Carvelli believes that everything in life has a purpose and that resilience will get you through any obstacle in your path. She succinctly illustrates this philosophy in her 340 page memoir, “Perfectly Negative: How I Learned to Embrace Life’s Lemons Lessons.” The self-published book details how she faced personal and family tragedy (divorce, becoming unemployed, and caring for her mother and sister with breast cancer who ultimately died, and herself being diagnosed with breast cancer.)

Carvelli a Warren resident, dedicated over twenty years of her professional career to computer technology and project management before writing her first full-length memoir, published in 2016, that reveals how she ultimately came to terms with her life’s mission. That is helping people overcome and learn from the challenges in their daily lives. As a board certified life coach, she brings lessons from her book to people to help them regain control of their lives, discover new perspectives, create more options, and move forward with confidence and courage.

3. “Assistance to Employee Caregivers Good for Everyone’s Bottom Line,” published on June 11 issue of the Woonsocket Call, and one day later in the Pawtucket Times.

In 2017, AARP and the Respect a Caregiver’s Time Coalition (ReACT) released a report detailing innovative practices and policies of 14 organizations (including Fannie Mae, CBS Corporation, Allianz Life, and Emory University) to support their employees with caregiver responsibilities. With the graying of America, supporting caregiver employees should be considered “a potentially new weapon” to attract or retain talented employees, say the researchers, by flexible work arrangements and paid leave policies. And there will be a need for this support.

“Family caregivers juggle their loved one’s needs with their own personal and professional goals every day. AARP hopes this report will encourage more employers understand caregiving and support their employees’ success,” said Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer in a statement. AARP sponsored the 49-page report.

`According to researchers, interviews with business and human resources executives from the profiled organizations in the report indicated that time and flexibility are what matter most to employees when it comes to balancing work and caregiving. Close to half of the employers interviewed provide paid time off for caregiving as well as emergency backup care and flexible work arrangements.

All offer employee caregivers a combination of information resources, referral services and advice by phone. Most provide resources online, typically through an employee assistance (EAP) or an intranet portal. More than half offer phone consultations or 24/7 expert hotlines. Several interviewees stressed the value of providing on-site, independent eldercare consultants, noting that employees appreciate both the convenience and the respect for their privacy.

4. “Save the Roses and Try These Tips: Six Ways to Improving Communication at Home,” published in the February 5, 2017 issue of the Woonsocket Call, and one day later in the Pawtucket Times

Effective Communication at home with your husband, wife, or partner is key to maintaining a meaningful, healthy, environment and thriving family. Author Donna Mac, a well-known corporate trainer, based in South Eastern, Massachusetts, with 25 years of experience in the broadcasting industry, translates effective corporate communication details tips in her book, “Six Pillars of Effective Communication” which can bring healthy energy into an ailing relationship and bring you closer together with your loved one.

According to Author Donna Mac, president of Rehoboth, MA-based DMacVoice Communications, sexual infidelity, commonly linked to divorce, is not the leading cause for couples separating. The corporate communications expert notes that a recent article in Psychology Today says that whether a partner’s communication “lifts you up or brings you down” is the single largest predictor of divorce.

Mac’s six pillars call for a person to: know and own who they are; understand the audience you are speaking to; master the topic of your conversation; anticipate the questions and reactions to your conversation; “speak to serve” by making sure the conversation is not about you; and be detach from the outcome of your discussion.

5. “Senate Aging Panel Calls for Improved Emergency Preparation and Response,” published in the October 8, 2017 of the Woonsocket Call, and one day later in the Pawtucket Times

In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, after the death of at least nine nursing facility residents due to heat-related illness due to sweltering heat at a Hollywood, Florida-based facility that had lost power to run its air conditioner, the Senate Special Committee on Aging put the spotlight on the challenges facing seniors during natural disasters at a hearing on Sept. 20, 2017.

The expert panel detailed a variety of recommendations at this Senate panel hearing. One suggestion included creating registries to quickly locate were residents who are electricity-dependent live, for swift evacuations. Another called for fully funding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and investing in weather surveillance tools for better decision making.

Other recommendations included: requiring nursing and assisted living facilities have emergency evacuation plans; having support generators in the event of a power failure; gathering more research on what types of patients will benefit from evacuation or sheltering in; only allowing construction of facilities in places that minimize flooding risk; and litigation protection for facilities that abide by regulations and provide care during disaster scenarios.

If you like my weekly coverage of issues of interest to the aging network and older Rhode Islanders, a book compiling 79 of these commentaries is now available for purchase. To order “Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly,” go to http://www.herbweiss.com.